Katherine jumped to her feet and walked toward the cushions on the floor. She removed a few from the middle and put a low table from her storage. A liquor bottle appeared in her hand as she turned to Ethan. ‘’Come, let’s continue here. You look like you need something stronger.’’

Ethan agreed very much. With everything he learned, he couldn’t help but consider all sorts of possibilities in his head. If some people were to steal the core of Earth and ruin its people’s future, he would’ve been pissed. But to start a war that caused billions of people's death along with his own father, and kidnap hundreds of thousands of people that might include his own mother… This. This made it personal.

For almost ten years, he had nowhere to lead his anger. He learned to suppress his outrage and accept life as it is without any other choice. And now, this sleeping rage was roaring inside him, demanding to be released and destroy everything on its path.

He walked and sat in front of her and grabbed the glass. ‘’Thank you. Before you continue, can you tell me, does every planet without any mana have to be a Caged World? And does every powerhouse treats their Caged Worlds as you’ve said?’’

‘’Of course,’’ she replied and gave her back to the glass wall, getting comfortable with her drink in her hand. ‘’If a world without mana has the conditions to support life and has intelligent beings living in it, then it is a Caged World for sure. As for your second question, almost every powerhouse does this. There should be hints in the ancient texts of earth. If there was a massive genocide, it's impossible to remove every evidence.''

''You're not going to tell me that the great flood had been caused by a high-level water elemental, right?''

Katherine shrugged. ''I don't know anything about your world's history, but using water elementals seems like a good way to kill intelligent beings without harming the world itself. To be honest, there is no need to look too deep. Since you’re already here, it means that your world wasn’t among the lucky few.’’

Ethan narrowed his eyes. ‘’The Resistance.’’

She nodded slightly. ‘’Yes. As I said, not every one of these worlds was a newborn. Some of them were once flourishing lower realms and many people ascended from those. When their home worlds literally were killed and their descendants became slaves, many of them fought against it, but it quickly became clear that this wasn’t a battle they could win by fighting directly. If they were going to change anything, they had to bide their time, get more allies, and even use the so-called waste materials from the Caged Worlds.’’

Ethan gulped his drink and tried to focus on the story, he knew this information was too important and had to listen carefully.

‘’They had to get those people to the lower realms like this one, where they will be safe from their owners and inform them about everything that was going on before their own ascension. However, doing this wasn’t easy and it would certainly alert the enemy. So, they made a plan: Sending out manaless people to these worlds in secret, making them settle there, and helping the civilization advance faster. Once every civilization has the ability to make intergalactic journeys without mana, it would’ve been the time to start the great migration.’’

‘’Did they have this kind of technology already?’’

‘’No. Not at the start. The ascendants of higher realms never really cared about technology. Most of the powerhouses are able to travel in space with their body and even the most basic skills, like the one you have, [Blink], becomes really ridiculous at the high ranks. It was actually the locals of a Caged World who developed the technology to travel in space without any mana and the Resistance wanted every world to get that point of advancement as soon as possible, and as natural as possible.’’

Ethan helped himself with another glass. ‘’So they pushed civilization by thousands of years and couldn’t help but also change the cultures, myths, and maybe even religions. That’s why our worlds are very similar and that’s why the Earth’s folklore is the reality of the Elisium.’’

‘’Somewhat,’’ Katherine said and extended her cup, asking for refilling as well. ‘’In some areas it was an intentional intervention, to make the people ready for what’s coming. Yet, they were walking on thin ice. If there were tales about elves in a world where a complete genocide of elves happened thousands of years ago, it wouldn’t be surprising since it’s not possible for the ascendants to make all the others forget about their past. But if it keeps happening constantly and on every Caged World, then even the ascendants who didn’t care about the inner workings of their breeding facility might’ve been alerted. Regardless of the dangers, the Resistance did its best to show that everything was natural. However, as the time for the grand plan got close, there were already too many people knowing too many things. Adding everything else, they decided to play safe and carry the plans forward.’’

Ethan was staring at his drink as he listened. ‘’But they couldn’t.’’

‘’It was about 150 years ago. All hell broke loose. Thousands of years of planning and countless more schemes became useless. Under the threat of complete destruction, the Resistance went all out, but the fate of the battle was sealed from the start,’’ she said and continued with a bitter smile. ‘’I was actually about your age back then. The patriarch of the Olsen family was my grandfather, and it was he who told me all these. He also said that we came to Elisium half a millennium ago after our world failed to become a higher realm and got plundered, that it was two of our ancestors who helped us to come here, and they both had high ranks in the Resistance. They were even able to send people to Elisium to inform us, but ever since that war, no one ever came. Not to us nor to any other family in the Elisium who were in a similar position like us.’’

‘’A fitting end I would say.’’

‘’Excuse me?’’

‘’Is there any difference between the powerhouses you’ve mentioned and The Resistance?’’ Ethan asked, his eyes sharp but calm. ‘’They both did anything to achieve their goals without a care for the others. Transferring trillions of people to the lower realms with ships? Ridiculous! Do you have any idea what kind of resources that would take? And to do fast enough to not alert the ascendants? Heh… They never planned to take everyone, but only a small part. What about the people who are happy living as ignorant waste materials? Did they consider their feelings? Or the fates of the ones who will be left behind? What about the small part that somehow arrived at the lower realms? Any plans for those billions of manaless people? There is no difference between the top dog ascendants and the poor Resistance. They are incapable of asking a simple question; Who the fuck gives them the right?!’’

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Katherine watched the ranting intently with the faintest smile. ‘’What would you do instead?’’

‘’You will see,’’ he said with certainty. ‘’It’ll be hard to miss.’’

Her smile got bigger and she shook her head. ‘’You keep making me remember my gramps, and not his younger days either. Are sure you are 20 years old?’’

The lovely smile managed to calm him down a little, but the things he learned today were just too much. The image of his panicked mother was still on his mind, making him unrest and edgy. Ethan sighed and sipped his drink. ‘’I’m sorry if I said too much. I was expecting that I might get some shocking news from you today, but not this. Speaking of it, why tell me all this? Why save my life? Did you figure that I’m also not from here and feel sympathy or something?’’

‘’Well, I’m delaying my ascension for a long time now, and I kinda know everything in the free cities. Countermeasures against a boring life, you see. So, when I heard about people with strange clothes appearing in the middle of a street, that more of them are coming to gather, and regardless of their ages, none of them have mana… I naturally figured what’s going on,’’ she said, amused. ‘’That day in the Pink Pearl, I was following your friend to see if he’s up to anything interesting and heard your speech about being a leader, that you hate doing chores. Since you caught my interest, I sent a note. Let’s see what it was.’’

She called a piece of paper from her storage and read it aloud with theatrics. ‘’I said, What would you do if the real you seek was taken by the big hungry wolves? And you said,’’ Turning over the back of the paper, she changed her tone before reading it. ‘’The fact that I hate chores doesn't mean I’d rather live in a dumpster.’’

Katherine flashed an amused smile against Ethan’s eye-rolling. ‘’So I thought, one day I should tell you what’s going on and see how you react. It was certainly worth it since I didn’t expect such a strong reaction. Oh, as for saving your life, before even I have the chance to speak with you, Travis made a move.’’ Her smile turned predatory. ‘’No one can mess with my fun. No one in the Elisium.’’

Ethan believed that wholeheartedly, but it still didn’t feel like the whole truth. ‘’Just this? You don’t expect me to join on your side or anything?’’

‘’Not at all. I’ll ascend in a few years and my family will be in safe hands. As for the Resistance, before his own ascension, my gramps told me if he won’t send any message afterward, it means that the Resistance is completely over, and he’ll be doing other projects in which I have no place. He made me promise to stay in a lower realm as long as possible and carry on with my life after my ascension,’’ she explained, dropping her shoulders. ‘’So, yes. He didn’t send any message, and I’ll abide by my promise.’’

‘’I see. Even so, thank you. I owe you one,’’ Ethan expressed sincerely and stood up slowly. ‘’It was a good talk, but to be honest, the content affected me too much. If you’ll excuse me, I think I need to take a walk and think.’’

Katherine also got up and extended her hand. ‘’I enjoyed this very much. Come back to chat whenever you feel like it.’’

Ethan shook her hand and nodded before turning to leave. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back. ‘’One more thing. Do you know where I can find skills with void or death affinity?’’

Katherine burst out a laugh. ‘’I thought you weren't looking for a sugar momma? What’s with the sudden favors?’’

The corner of Ethan’s eye twitched a little. ‘’I’m just asking for information. I can pay for it.’’

‘’Oh, come on. Don’t give me the cold shoulder now. You know I like to joke. Offering me money like I need it…’’ she said, pretending to be offended. ‘’Sadly, other than [Blink] there are only a few void skills I know, and all of them are in the hands of big families in the Union. They won't be selling it to anyone, no matter what. However, I actually know a death-related inheritance site, forgotten to the realm for god knows how long. I couldn’t check it for decades because it doesn’t allow anyone above tier-5 and you need someone with at least high-grade talent in death to enter the place. So, I’m not sure if you could enter or what you’ll be facing, but I bet the prize would be satisfying.’’

‘’Perfect. Where is it?’’

‘’In the Dead Plains, close to Mirasatra.’’

Even better. Looks like it’s Beet’s lucky day. Ethan took a map from Katherine, showing the location of the site, and left the compound of the Olsens with countless thoughts in his mind.

It was late in the afternoon as he wandered on the streets of Ehrendil. He avoided visiting the people he knew because even though Travis didn’t seem to be a threat to him for now, he wasn’t sure if the bastard would go for the people he cared about.

After half an hour of walk, he teleported himself to the roof of an old building where he could watch the sunset. One leg hanging from the roof, the other stepping at the corner, he sat and drank his cold beer as he gazed at the horizon. The sky was changing from minute to minute. From bright orange to hot pink, the clouds were being painted in ever-changing colors as the sun went down at a leisurely pace.

‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’

‘Command unclear.’

‘Ani, why don’t you give me one of your assumptions? What’s the possibility of my mother being kidnapped?’

‘There are too many variables and too few facts. It would be pointless.’

‘Yeah... Tell me about it,’ he said and took another sip, eyes fixed on the sky. How many of the missing person cases were related to the ascendants? Half? More than half? And even if she somehow ended up in a higher realm, what kind of a life was she living? Is she even alive after 130 years? Katherine said that the war started around 150 ago, and the resistance stopped sending messengers to the lower realms. That means the massive amount of slaves they took from Earth was either at the end of the war or they were resupplying their stocks after the war ended. Also, Saruman said that no one visited him from the Wish Palace for more than 150 years. How is that organization related to this? Just what happened in the higher realms?

Even after learning many things from Katherine, he was still lacking too much information. That was why Evelyn’s friend Claire was still an important source for him since she only came to the lower realm a few years ago. Even if it was just some rumors, she had to know many things.

Yet, there was no feeling of urgency in Ethan to see her. He knew with how powerless he was, there wasn’t anything he could do. Even if he became a powerhouse like Katherine, one of the best tier-9s in Elisium, he would still be nobody in the higher realms. But this feeling of helplessness and the necessity of needing a long time to reach his goals didn’t discourage him. Instead, it was fuelling his desires to new highs. Never in his life did he want something so badly.

Whether his mother was still alive or she was never one of the kidnapped ones. Whether she died in a higher realm, or she was alive but it was impossible to give her freedom. None of it mattered. He wanted to learn the truth, punish the ones to blame with his own judgment, and make sure that anyone who does similar things to others has to think twice. Not because he felt responsible for others, or he wanted justice for Earth, but because he wanted to hurt the ones who hurt him, and to do that while also making his parents proud of him, whether they were dead or alive.

Because now… now it was personal.